On May 5, 2015, twelve civil rights groups led by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights issued a statement “opposing anti-testing efforts.” In short, these groups are confronting the growing strength of the Opt Out/Resist the Test movement.

These groups are the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the American Association of University Women (AAUW), Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc. (COPAA), Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), NAACP, National Council of La Raza (NCLR), National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), National Urban League (NUL), Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC), and TASH.

When I first read the May 5, 2015, statement by these 12 civil rights organizations that are defending annual testing even in the face of nationwide standardized-testing overuse and abuse, it put me in mind of another recent statement by civil rights groups in support of annual testing: This one, dated January 11, 2015, and taken from the Education Trust website. In this statement, 28 civil and human rights organizations appealed to Congress not only to retain the annual testing, but also to ask that the US secretary of education serve as the enforcer of state goals, as excerpted below:

For more than five decades, Congress has consistently recognized and acted on the need to promote fair and equal access to public schools for: children of color; children living in poverty; children with disabilities; homeless, foster and migrant children; children in detention; children still learning English; Native children; and girls as well as boys. Much progress has been made, but educational inequality continues to quash dreams, erode our democracy, and hinder economic growth. This federal role must be honored and maintained in a reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which must ensure the following: …

VI. States implement and enforce the law. The Secretary of Education approves plans, ensures state implementation through oversight and enforcement, and takes action when states fail to meet their obligations to close achievement gaps and provide equal educational opportunity for all students.

Charter school founder, company agree to pay $3 million to settle lawsuit

Charter school founder Kent Amos and his management company have agreed to pay $3 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged he used the company to divert taxpayer funds from the school for his personal gain.

A consent agreement was filed in court Friday by the District of Columbia, Amos, the Dorothy I. Height Community Academy Public Charter Schools, and the management company, of which Amos is president. According to the agreement — which is expected to become effective as soon as a judge signs it — the money will go to the school or to its “successors.”

Community Academy, established in 1998, is one of the oldest and largest charter schools in the city. Amos, a former corporate executive, founded the school with a mission of helping children and parents in poor neighborhoods.

Last summer, the D.C. attorney general alleged that millions of dollars had been diverted from the school for personal gain, contrary to the school’s nonprofit status. Amos and his attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

Since 2004, the school paid more than $14 million to the company, according to court records. Management fees rose while costs declined, because the company employed fewer people and duties were shifting to school employees, records show.

Amos profited most in recent years, according to court documents. He received about $1.15 million in income in 2012 from the management company, according to federal tax records. In 2013, he received $1.38 million, including $103,000 paid to his wife, who was also listed as an employee.

In February, the D.C. Public Charter School Board voted unanimously to revoke the school’s charter effective July 1, citing a pattern of fiscal mismanagement. Last month, a Superior Court judge upheld that decision.

In a deal brokered by Deputy Mayor for Education Jennifer C. Niles, the school’s campuses will be divided up and transferred to other entities starting next school year. One campus will be transferred to D.C. Public Schools, a second campus will go to the DC Bilingual Public Charter School, and a third campus and online school will transfer to Friendship Public Charter Schools.

The settlement does not resolve a separate lawsuit filed against two members of the school’s board of trustees, Ernest Green Jr. and Maurice Sykes. The complaint says that the trustees received money or expected to receive money from the school’s management company but that they failed to disclose their business dealings and acted to further the interests of Amos at the expense of the school.

As many as three-quarters of Los Angeles 10th-graders are at risk of being denied diplomas by graduation because they are not on track to meet rigorous new college prep class requirements.

This has prompted some in the L.A. Unified School District, including Supt. Ramon C. Cortines, to suggest reconsidering the requirements, which were approved a decade ago to better prepare students for college. The plan came after years of complaints that the nation's second-largest school system was failing to help underprivileged students become eligible for and succeed in college.

In an interview, Cortines said the effort is laudable, but that it would be unfair to penalize students who otherwise could graduate.

"I do believe the goal is a good one, but we need to be realistic," Cortines said. Enforcing the plan is "not practical, realistic or fair to the students of 2017. I don't think we've provided the supports to the schools."

But the college prep requirements still have significant backing within the district and among community activists, who say L.A. Unified must do a better job helping students pass the challenging classes.

L.A. Unified received national attention with its college prep goals, which were approved in 2005. The district allotted 12 years to get there — the entire education of a child who entered the system at that time.

Students in the class of 2017 must earn a C grade or better in a set of courses aimed at making all seniors eligible to apply to the University of California and California State systems. These include four years of English and three years of math, including geometry and intermediate algebra.

Overall, officials said, students have been better served because of the mandate. For one thing, the full set of college preparatory classes has become available at all high schools.

Moreover, the percentage of students completing the minimum college prep curriculum has increased from 15% to 28%, said activists who reviewed district data.

And graduation rates have increased. Last year, the four-year graduation rate for 9th graders was 67% — the latest in a string of improving statistics.

Fewer than half of these graduates, however, would have met the 2017 standard.

Among about 37,000 students remaining in the class of 2017, only 26% are on track to graduate and 17% are repeating 9th grade, according to district research.

The success of students varies widely. At Washington Preparatory High School, for example, 29% of the class of 2017 are on track. At Mendez High School, by contrast, 77% are on schedule.

The push for mandatory college-prep courses was based on the apparent success of San Jose Unified, which had adopted a similar policy. But its gains in college-prep rates were later determined to be inflated by an accounting error. A 2013 Times review of the data showed that most San Jose students never qualified to apply to a state college.

Social Justice Activist Award

Boyd Bosma Jose Lara Jose Vilson

Members of the National Education Association have a long and proud history of social justice activism. Education advocacy and social justice advocacy go hand in hand, as an increasingly diverse kaleidoscope of students and educators must feel welcome in our public schools. Every day educators take extraordinary action to show leadership on social justice issues in and out of the classroom.

The social justice activist award will be presented to one exceptional member who demonstrates the ability to lead, organize and engage educators, parents, and the community to advocate on social justice issues that impact the lives of students, fellow educators and the communities they serve.

Read the biographies of the nominees below. Then cast your vote. Only one vote per member will be counted.

Nominees for the 2015 Social Justice Activist Award

Boyd BosmaFrom his days as a Michigan classroom teacher and civil rights pioneer to the present, Boyd Bosma has maintained his commitment to social justice.Dr. Boyd Bosma was a teacher leader in Michigan prior to serving much of his professional career with the National Education Association in the NEA Human Relations Center, an early precursor to the Department of Human and Civil Rights. He was a social justice change maker—a courageous pioneer of NEA policies and programs supporting civil and human rights in education at a time of enormous resistance to changing the status quo.

Dr. Boyd’s most notable accomplishments include leading efforts to end segregated membership requirements in NEA-affiliated state associations and the merger of black and white NEA affiliates; organizing the National Committee of Educators for Civil Rights; and writing and leading the adoption of the NEA Resolution 12 amendment requiring the merger and integration of NEA local and state affiliates.

Jose Lara

Social studies teacher Jose Lara’s successful campaign to make ethnic studies a graduation requirement in Los Angeles schools has inspired school districts across the nation.Jose Lara is a social studies teacher, vice president of the El Rancho Unified School Board, Dean at Santee Education Center (an LA Unified high school), and a member of the United Teachers Los Angeles board. A dedicated social justice activist, Lara has organized parents, educators, and students around issues of educational justice in our public schools.

Most recently, Lara formed the Ethnic Studies Now Coalition and led the campaign to make Ethnic Studies a graduation requirement in the Los Angeles Unified School District—the nation’s second largest—last fall. After a successful vote, school districts and states across the country are beginning to pass similar resolutions.

Jose Vilson

A New York City math teacher and innovative online activist for social justice, Vilson has been a tireless advocate for public school students and communities of color.José Luis Vilson is a math educator for a middle school in the Inwood / Washington Heights neighborhood of New York, New York. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Syracuse University and a master’s degree in mathematics education from the City College of New York. He is a committed writer, web designer, and father and an outstanding activist and leader in the area of social justice and education.

Vilson’s efforts to raise the voices of people of color in education-related matters via online activism has resulted in the formation of the influential group #educolor. Vilson’s book, This is Not a Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class and Education, has been instrumental in broadening the scope of discourse in education.

The Network for Public Education supports those who choose to opt out, because we believe these tests are now causing harm to students, and to the cause of educational equity. Seattle teacher Jesse Hagopian has written a response to The Leadership Conference of Civil and Human Rights’ statement, which the Network for Public Education shares here. He states, “High-stakes standardized tests, rather than reducing the opportunity gap, have been used to rank, sort, label, and punish students of color.”

We support opting out of high stakes tests because:

There is no evidence that these tests contribute to the quality of education, have led to improved educational equity in funding or programs, or have helped close the “achievement gap”.

These tests, particularly those associated with the Common Core, have become intrusive in our schools, consuming huge amounts of time and resources, and narrowing instruction to focus on test preparation.

These tests have never been independently validated or shown to be reliable and/or free from racial and ethnic bias.

Instead the Common Core exams are being used as a political weapon to claim huge numbers of students are failing, to close neighborhood public schools, and fire teachers, all in the effort to disrupt and privatize the public education system.

Thus, the notion that subjecting students to high-stakes tests is a “civil right” is inherently misguided.

Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig, Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and NPE board member stated, “The alleged benefit of No Child Left Behind and national required annual high stakes testing was to unveil the achievement gaps, and by doing so, close them. After more than a decade of high-stakes testing this never happened. Instead, thousands of neighborhood schools— the anchors of communities, especially in poor and minority neighborhoods — were closed and their students sent to another low performing and poorly resourced school much further away from their home.”

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights argued that data obtained through standardized tests are “the only available, consistent, and objective source of data about disparities in educational outcomes.” This statement is completely false. There is reliable disaggregated national data available from NAEP. There are a number of student outcomes available to consider the success of students, schools, districts, states and the nation. More importantly, we must pay closer attention to data that demonstrate the differences in opportunity between schools.

While persisting inequality between schools is our real challenge, the political framing supported by testing is instead a focus on the failure of our students and teachers in our public system. This rhetoric is then linked to school “reform” policies that have made the real agenda very clear—continuing to underfund schools and replace our locally controlled public school systems with privately controlled schools. Private control allows the opportunity to profit from equally under resourced and poor-performing charters, for-profit on-line schools, and vouchers for private schools (which opt-out of testing). Without democratic control, these schools are free to create a constant churn of temporary teachers whose work is largely reduced to worksheets and canned software programs for test preparation.

The Seattle NAACP recently urged parents to opt out of the SBAC test, and stated:

Using standardized tests to label Black people and immigrants as lesser—while systematically underfunding their schools—has a long and ugly history.

It is true we need accountability measures, but that should start with politicians be accountable to fully funding education and ending the opportunity gap. The costs tied to the test this year will run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. If the State really wants students to achieve academic performance at higher levels these dollars should be put in our classrooms and used for our children’s academic achievement, instead of putting dollars in the pockets of test developers.

National teachers union blasts Christie over pension funding in radio, online ads - News - NorthJersey.com: National teachers union blasts Christie over pension funding in radio, online adsOne of the largest teachers’ unions in the nation is blasting Governor Christie in a radio and online ad campaign launched Wednesday over his failure to make full payments into the state pension system.The campa

State orders charter schools to improve - Connecticut Post: State orders charter schools to improve Following the adoption of tougher charter school standards, two area charter schools that were up for renewal -- one in Bridgeport and the other in Stamford -- have been ordered by the state to improve.New Beginnings Family Academy, a Bridgeport based charter school that also serves a handful of stu

Aurora school board met illegally with Gates Foundation, charters | Chalkbeat: Aurora school board met illegally with Gates Foundation, chartersThe district will review policies for social events, nontraditional board meetings A majority of the Aurora Public Schools’ Board of Education met illegally April 29 with representatives from several national charter school networks and the Bill and Melind

Education Reformers Lost in the Woods Should Pause, Listen and Learn - Living in Dialogue: Education Reformers Lost in the Woods Should Pause, Listen and Learn By John Thompson.When lost in the woods, the first rule is “hug a tree.” In other words, slow down, confront your fears, regain your calm and think prudently about getting back on track.When trapped in the urban crises of today, we should

The Testing Opt-Out Movement Explodes, and the Empire Strikes Back | Lisa Guisbond: The Testing Opt-Out Movement Explodes, and the Empire Strikes BackEducation policymakers and elected officials can no longer ignore or trivialize the test resistance movement. It's become too massive. In a historic example of civil disobedience this spring, around 200,000 New York parents opted out of high-stakes s

New online tool will help public easily see lobbyist connections to bills - SFGate: New online tool will help public easily see lobbyist connections to bills SACRAMENTO — Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a new online search tool Wednesday that he said will open up the way the California Legislature does business and radically transform state politics “from a world of promises to a world of participa

Who’s the William Wallace of testing: @JessedHagopian or Liz King? | Cloaking Inequity: Who’s the William Wallace of testing: @JessedHagopian or Liz King?Liz KingYesterday, Liz King, a Teach For America alum and policy analyst for The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, led 12 civil rights organizations into a national battle against student and parents. She loves testing. Liz King be

Network for Public Education's Second Annual Conference Makes History - Living in Dialogue: Network for Public Education's Second Annual Conference Makes History By Anthony Cody.The last weekend of April I joined about 600 other history-makers in the great city of Chicago for the second annual conference of the Network for Public Education. It has been said that American attitudes towards educatio

Russ on Reading: Accountability for Charter Schools in Philadelphia: Accountability for Charter Schools in PhiladelphiaHey, Philadelphia Mayoral candidates. let's adopt the Annenberg accountability standards for charter school oversight.It looks like charter school proliferation will continue in Philadelphia for the foreseeable future. While newly elected Governor Tom Wolfe has fired School Reform

Education Post Goes Postal on John Oliver - Living in Dialogue: Education Post Goes Postal on John OliverBy Anthony Cody.Poor John Oliver. After he did a segment on the insanity of our nation’s testing machine, the field of education’s only multi-million dollar blog, The Education Post, has taken after him with a vengeance. Oliver joins others with the nerve to question the nation’s obsession with

Is Rupert Murdoch's (NWSA) Bid to Fix Education With a Tablet Failing? - Pg.2 - TheStreet: Is Rupert Murdoch's Bid to Fix Education With a Tablet Failing?Amplify decided to build its own hardware five years ago because the "operating systems didn't give us the kind of flexibility with the learning resources we were creating," Hamilton said. It also allowed school districts one-stop shopp

Early learner expert tied to Hollywood takes on Common Core :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet: Early learner expert tied to Hollywood takes on Common Core(Mass.) Already under fire for its ties to the Obama administration and for unsettling teacher unions – the Common Core has a new adversary, actor Matt Damon’s mom.Nancy Carlsson-Paige, an au

The Soccer Mom Revolt Against Common Core - WSJ: The Soccer Mom Revolt Against Common CoreThe opt-out movement against taking the tests is growing, and so is the Obama administration’s ire. The term “soccer mom”—political shorthand for the upscale suburban women President Clinton courted so successfully in the 1990s—may have fallen out of use with the Beltway set in more recent years, but this swi

Jersey Jazzman: Education "Reform": The Wrong Conversation: Education "Reform": The Wrong Conversation Jennifer "Edushyster" Berkshire has been having a series of conversations with some of the titans of reforminess. As Peter Greene notes, Jennifer is just about the most charming (and consequently disarming) person you'd ever care to meet; it's not a surprise, then, t

Which Pa. school districts get the highest share of aid from the state? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Which Pa. school districts get the highest share of aid from the state?Which school districts in Pennsylvania receive the most state funding as a share of their total revenue?If you guessed Philadelphia, you'd be dead wrong.As the interactive map below shows, the Philadelphia School Distr

Teacher: I don’t care about my students’ grades. This is far more important. - The Washington Post:Teacher: I don’t care about my students’ grades. This is far more important.This is the second in a series of essays I will publish in the coming weeks that emanate from a project in which more than 20 biology teachers around the country wrote around the prompt: “What is the value of letting students

10 U.S Presidents who also worked as teachers - Yahoo News: 10 U.S Presidents who also worked as teachers On National Teacher Day, Constitution Daily looks at 10 Presidents who were teachers in some capacity before they occupied the White House – including one who later married his own teacher.The most common occupation among the Presidents is lawyer, with 25 future Presidents practicing the law i

Teach for America’s plan to turn around falling applications - Fortune: Teach for America's plan to turn around falling applications Elisa Villanueva Beard, co-CEO of Teach for America, tells Fortune about how the organization plans to bounce back after a year when applications dropped by about 10%.Taking over when a charismatic founder steps down is never easy, but Elisa Villanueva Beard has had

Advocacy - CETPA: Teacher Evaluation Debate in SacramentoTeacher evaluation and training is an area of interest among legislators this year, in part spurred by the Vergara v. State of California lawsuit. As we’ve mentioned, some Democrats have proposed bills this session that could make part of the appeal moot by changing the current law with respect to teacher evaluations. Two measures would requ

How Can Teachers Confront the Challenges of Baltimore, Ferguson and Urban America? | John Thompson: How Can Teachers Confront the Challenges of Baltimore, Ferguson and Urban America? Now that Baltimore has captured our attention, we must all ask what should be doneWhen Work Disappears. Our urban crisis did not begin with deindustrialization; racism, Jim Crow and de facto segregation were the funda

by mike simpson / 11h

YESTERDAY

Opting Out Interfering with the “Civil Right” of Testing? | deutsch29: Opting Out Interfering with the “Civil Right” of Testing?As I write this post, I have in front of me my permanent education record from kindergarten through eighth grade. It is by way of an unusual set of circumstances that I have this file. The short of it is that the records clerk at the first high school I taught at gave it

Ref Rodriguez: What the PUC Is Going on Here? Following the money in local politics is an important way of seeing which people, companies, and organized interests are investing in particular candidates. Closely examining contribution reports often provides insights into who may want to pull the strings of officials who make policy and spending decisions or influence those seeking to win an elected

About — EduColor: MissionEduColor seeks to elevate the voices of public school advocates of color on educational equity and justice. We are an inclusive cooperative of informed, inspired and motivated educators, parents, students, writers and activists who promote and embrace the centrality of substantive intersectional diversity. Click Here to Go to the EduColor WebsiteSteering CommitteeJose Vils

Resistance to High Stakes Tests Serves the Cause of Equity in Education: A Reply to “We Oppose Anti-Testing Efforts – The Network For Public Education: Resistance to High Stakes Tests Serves the Cause of Equity in Education: A Reply to “We Oppose Anti-Testing EffortsAuthored by Jesse Hagopian and the NPE Board of DirectorsToday several important civil rights organizations released a statement that

Fighting for the Future: Charter Schools and the Battle Over West County Education - Radio Free Richmond: Fighting for the Future: Charter Schools and the Battle Over West County Education On a Friday afternoon in mid-April, a group of parents and kids organized by the California Charter School Association (CCSA) rallied at the Richmond Civic Center. They were a visual force: waving signs, making

Special Nite Cap CORPORATE ED REFORMAmerican Teachers Need a Raise - US NewsAmerican Teachers Need a Raise - US News: American Teachers Need a Raise Flowers with a note that says “thank you for helping me bloom.” A bag of popcorn for a “very POPular teacher.” A set of highlighters that say “You’ve been the highlight of my year.” Teachers love getting these presents. I know from experience that tea